Alisal dominates Vikings

It was a cold night for a Gatorade bath, but Alisal High football coach Sunil Smith, dripping wet after a postgame celebration, didn't seem to mind the surprise.

His Trojans finished the regular season Friday with a 34-14 victory over North Salinas, giving Alisal High a school record eight victories. And with postseason play on the horizon, they'll have a chance to set the bar even higher for future teams.

"You know what? They're good ... they're real good," Smith said of the ambush that his players perpetrated to leave him half-drowned on the sidelines as the final seconds ticked off. "I think there was a lot of plotting, a lot of setting things up. I've got one coach asking me one thing, and another coach on the other side asking the same question, and the next thing I know I'm all wet. So I'm pretty sure the coaches were part of the conspiracy. They set me up pretty good."

The Trojans figured to roll over a North Salinas squad that brought a 2-8 record into the game, but ran into a stubborn defense that kept the game competitive for much of the first half.

The breathing room for Alisal came midway through the third quarter, when senior quarterback Ezequiel Gonzalez peeled off touchdown runs of 57 and 55 yards on back-to-back series, blowing the contest open.

Alisal, 8-2, got a first-quarter interception from Ricardo Muniz, then reaped the benefits of a pass-interference penalty in a second-and-23 situation, to put the first points on the scoreboard, a 12-yard run by Jovan Villalobos.

When North Salinas failed to move the football and punted on its next possession, the Trojans went on the march again, using eight plays to move 58 yards.

The touchdown came on a 1-yard run by Danta Santoyo, normally an offensive lineman. Backup quarterback Eduardo Valencia, the holder for the point-after-touchdown, ran the ball for a 2-point conversion after an errant snap from center, giving the Trojans a 15-0 lead.

The Vikings made things interesting a few minutes later when Mario Gonzalez found himself in position to intercept a pass that bounced off the hands of an Alisal receiver, then returned it 21 yards for a North Salinas touchdown. Isiah Guzman kicked the conversion to chop the deficit to 15-7.

Alisal boosted its lead to 21-7 just before halftime, moving 66 yards on eight snaps, the biggest a 25-yard pass reception by Byron Medina on a fourth-and-11 from the North Salinas 30. That set up Gonzalez, the quarterback, for his first touchdown run of the evening, a 5-yarder.

His two long touchdown gallops, which came 2½ minutes apart in the third quarter, blew up any remaining hopes the Vikings may have had, boosting the lead to 34-7. Gonzalez finished with 129 yards on eight carries.

North Salinas got the final touchdown of the game with 5:22 remaining when Jacob Robante (10 carries, 139 yards) raced 83 yards. Guzman's kick made the final score 34-14.

"I'm overwhelmed, man. All of the stars have to fall into line to have a season like this one," Smith said. "Other teams have worked just as hard as this bunch, but a lot of things fell into place for us this year. The right people came out for the team. We stayed healthy through the season. Our seniors put in the time, from spring practices all the way to now, to earn this record. And my coaching staff did a terrific job. I'm at a loss for words to describe the feeling right now."

The Trojans got exceptional defensive play in their regular-season finale from Osiel Camacho, Erik Macias, Eddy Guzman and Eduardo Valencia, among others. Randy Ivey and Nico Alvarez were among the standout defenders for North Salinas.